Collapsible container with drainage opening

ABSTRACT

A container having a generally circular bottom, an outer, continuous wall, a spring for supporting the outer wall in a generally cylindrical form, and a circular top with an opening therein through which articles to be stored or carried may pass through. The bottom is configured with a water drainage hole, so that water that does not escape through the mesh may nevertheless drain from the container. Internal partitions may be provided to help organize item to be carried or stored in the container.

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) from provisionalapplication Ser. No. 60/607,282 filed on Sep. 4, 2004, which isincorporated by reference herein, in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to collapsible containers. Moreparticularly, it relates to containers that may be used to carry varioussmall items such as those that may be used for personal hygiene, and maybe exposed to a wet environment.

2. Prior Art

Generally, there have been a variety of containers that may be used tocarry personal items. Some take up a relatively large space. Others arenot suitable for use in wet environments.

A typical situation in which a variety of personal items, such aspersonal care items, must be carried is the college dormitory. Often agroup of students share a bathroom or shower. Students each have theirown personal care items, such as razors, a toothbrush, soap, etc. Theregenerally is no location to leave such items in a commonly used bathroomor shower, nor would students wish to do so.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide a collapsible container thatcan be used to store and to transport such personal items.

It is a further object of the invention to provide such a container thatis low in cost and usable in a wet environment.

It is another object of the invention to provide a container that can beexposed to a stream of water, but in which the water will notaccumulate.

These objects and others are achieved in accordance with the inventionby providing a container having a generally circular bottom, an outer,continuous wall, a spring for supporting the outer wall in a generallycylindrical form, and a circular top with an opening therein throughwhich articles to be stored or carried may pass through. The bottom isconfigured with a water drainage hole, so that water that does notescape through the mesh may nevertheless drain from the container. Thecontainer may have a series of partitions, preferably of differentsizes, for storing articles placed therein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing aspects and other features of the present invention areexplained in the following description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus in accordance with theinvention.

FIG. 2 is an additional, simplified, perspective view of an apparatus inaccordance with FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an additional, partial perspective view of an apparatus inaccordance with FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an additional, perspective view of an apparatus in accordancewith FIG. 1, shown in its collapsed state.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention withinternal partitions.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the embodiment of FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a perspective view of a container 10incorporating features of the present invention, in its expanded form,ready for use. Although the present invention will be described withreference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, it should beunderstood that the present invention can be embodied in many alternateforms of embodiments. In addition, any suitable size, shape or type ofelements or materials could be used.

The container 10 has a circular bottom 12 formed of a flexible materialthat may be, for example nylon, a vinyl, or other flexible fabric. Atthe center of bottom 12 is a grommet 13, formed of, for example, anon-corroding metal, or a plastic material, that defines an opening 14through which water may drain. It will be understood that when container10 is used to hold items, such a personal care items, bottom 12 will bedisplaced slightly downward (in FIG. 1) due to the weight of such items,and opening 14, located at the center of bottom 12, will be in anoptimum position to provide excellent drainage.

The outer cylindrical wall 16 of container 10 can be made of a meshformed of, for example, nylon, having substantially circular openingswith diameters of about 0.125 inches. It will be understood that suchopening will facilitate drainage of water through the side of container10, rather than from the bottom. However, due to the flexible nature ofthe bottom, a concavity for the accumulation of water would be formedwith any item stored therein. Thus opening 14 is still necessary toassure proper drainage. However, wall 16 may be made of a continuousfabric, without openings therein. The opening 14 in bottom 12 will stillassure excellent drainage of water.

Container 10 may be configured with a top 18 having a generally ovalopening 20 formed therein through which the items to be stored orcarried in container 10 may pass. Alternatively, the opening mayencompass substantially the entire top.

In that region where the periphery of top 20 connects to wall 16, acontinuous circular pocket 22 is formed. Further, in that region wherethe periphery of bottom 12 connects to wall 16, a continuous circularpocket 24 is formed. The interiors of pocket 22 and pocket 24 areconnected by a continuous pocket 26 (not shown in FIG. 2) which may besewn to the outside of wall 16 so as to spiral up wall 16 as shown inFIG. 1.

Container 10 is maintained in the expanded state shown in FIG. 1 by aspring wire (not shown). Two turns of one end of this spring aredisposed in pocket 22, and two turns of the other end of this spring aredisposed in pocket 24. Approximately two turns of the center of thisspring are disposed in pocket 26. A short length of plastic tubing (notshown) is disposed in each of pockets 22 and 24. The respective ends ofthe wire are received in these lengths of tubing so that no sharp pointis available to tear the fabric from which pockets 22 and 24 is formed.The fit into these tubings should be relatively tight to assure thatthere is little chance of their moving with respect to the wire so thatthe respective ends of the wire are removed from the tubing. On theother hand the fit should not be so tight as to make assembly undulydifficult.

Container 10 may have a handle 28, comprising, for example a texturednylon fabric, sewn to the joining region of top 20 and pocket 22, ateach end thereof. Further, for reasons of appearance, and to add a bitof strength, a fabric strip 30 may be sewn along the length of container10 (preferably on the outside surface of wall 16, but under pocket 26,at the intersection of strip 30 and pocket 26), extending from pocket 22to pocket 24.

Container 10 may be collapsed by merely pushing bottom 12 and top 20toward one another. The spring is collapsed, and container 10 assumes apancake shape shown in FIG. 4.

For purposes of transportation for sale, or for transportation by, forexample a student from home to college, container 10 may be kept in thecollapsed state by using an elastic band (not shown). Alternatively,handle 28 may be made somewhat shorter than shown, and of an elasticmaterial, and used for this purpose.

While the container has been described with one opening 14, it will beunderstood that bottom 12 may have a plurality of similar openingsdisposed in any one of several geometric arrays. The exact configurationis not critical, as long as adequate drainage of water is possible.

The collapsible container in accordance with the invention may beconstructed in a variety of sizes. In accordance with one embodiment,the container is approximately 7.5 inches in diameter and 11.75 inchesin its expanded state shown in FIG. 1. It may be collapsed so that whenin the state shown in FIG. 4, it is less than 0.5 inch high, thusfacilitating storage, shipping in quantity, and carrying during a movefrom one location to another.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 may bea container 50 of approximately eight inches in diameter andapproximately six inches high, and having a handle 52. A first verticalpartition 54 generally separates the container 50 into a firstcompartment 56 and a second compartment shown generally as 58, withcompartment 56 being somewhat larger than compartment 58. A secondvertical partition 59 generally separates the second compartment 58 intoa two compartments 60 and 62, with compartment 60 being somewhat largerthan compartment 62. The result is that various items 70 (FIG. 5), to beplaced in container 50, may be organized and stored in a compartment ofthe most appropriate size for the item. As for the previously describedembodiment, a grommet 13, formed of, for example, a non-corroding metal,or a plastic material, defines an opening 14 through which water maydrain.

It should be understood that the foregoing description is onlyillustrative of the invention. Various alternatives and modificationscan be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from theinvention. Accordingly, the present invention is intended to embrace allsuch alternatives, modifications and variances.

1. A container comprising: a generally circular bottom; an outer wall; a spring for supporting the outer wall in a generally cylindrical form; a circular top with an opening therein through which articles to be stored or carried may pass; a bottom configured with a water drainage hole, so that water that drains from the container; and compartments in said container for placement of items to be disposed in said container.
 2. The container of claim 1, wherein the outer wall is substantially continuous.
 3. The container of claim 1, wherein the outer wall is formed of a mesh.
 4. (canceled)
 5. The container of claim 1, wherein the water drainage hole is defined by a grommet in said bottom.
 6. The container of claim 1, wherein the grommet is formed of one of a corrosion resistant metal and a polymer.
 7. The container of claim 1, wherein the bottom is configured with additional drainage hole.
 8. The container of claim 7, wherein the drainage holes are arranged in a geometric array.
 9. The container of claim 1, wherein the bottom is formed of a flexible material.
 10. The container of claim 1, wherein the bottom is formed of nylon or vinyl.
 11. The container of claim 1, further comprising a fabric strip fastened along a length of the container.
 12. The container of claim 11, wherein said fabric strip is of a length which limits expansion of said container due to action of said spring.
 13. The container of claim 1, wherein said opening in said top has an oval shape.
 14. The container of claim 1, wherein said opening in said top has an circular shape and is substantially as large as said top.
 15. The container of claim 1, further comprising a first circular pocket for receiving a top of said spring, and a second circular pocket for receiving a bottom of said spring.
 16. The container of claim 15, wherein the first circular pocket and the second circular pocket each receive substantially two turns of said spring.
 17. The container of claim 1, further comprising a pocket disposed to spiral along said wall and to receive a portion of said spring.
 18. The container of claim 1, wherein the compartments are defined by at least one partition within said container extending horizontally across said container and vertically in said container in a direction in which said container expands.
 19. The container of claim 18, wherein said at least one partition comprises a first partitions dividing the container into two compartments, a first of said compartments being larger than a second of said compartments.
 20. The container of claim 19, wherein said at least one partition comprises a second partition dividing the second compartment into a first sub-compartment and a second sub-compartment, said first sub-compartment being larger than said second sub-compartment.
 21. The container of claim 20, wherein said first compartment, said first sub-compartment and said second sub-compartment are each defined in part by the outer wall. 